Varied moods

Nothing is more characteristic of Czech music than the 'dumka', which
Dvorák made particularly his own, notably in his Op 90 Piano Trio,
which strings six of them together. A 'dumka' starts in the dumps or at
least thoughtfully, because it is a diminutive of the word 'duma', and Russian
parliaments, whenever they exist, are essentially thinking shops or talking
shops rather than action shops, and they usually end in tears. There is
only one official 'dumka' in this set of Suk piano pieces, but it is a characteristic
example, beginning in woe minor and abundantly cheerful in its middle section.
This is the opening [listen -- track 5, 0:00-1:09].
The piece is No 5 of Suk's Op 7, half a dozen miniatures all written before
he was twenty and about the time Brahms was producing his late keyboard
works. It must be said that the Brahmsian influence is more apparent than
anything from Czech folk music, though the No 2 Humoreske borrows another
characteristic Dvorák title for a movement to enliven any drawing
room [listen -- track 2, 0:00-1:02]. By Op 10 Suk
was twenty one. The five 'mood' pieces begin with a 'Legend' that again
pays tribute to the dumka, but Suk is now more adventurous harmonically
and has clearly pricked up a listening ear beyond the Rhine. There are piquant
subtleties in the No 2 Capriccio [listen -- track 13,
0:00-1:04].